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'Mobile revolution' reshaping contact centers, expert says

Mobility is considered one of the most impactful IT developments going, but what does it mean for the modern contact center? Multichannel Merchant's Lauren Ziskie recently emphasized how the mobile revolution is changing how contact centers and businesses themselves operate.

The writer explained that consumers using smartphones and other mobile devices are demanding more from merchants. Companies that do not cater to these needs stand to make their audience more disgruntled as a result. People who view businesses' contact centers as slow will likely find another service, so organizations should evolve along with smartphone adoption rates.

Although many businesses want to offer their customers a more personalized experience, this is not easy to do when communicating through a digital channel. But companies can reach their audiences effectively through a number of ways, according to Ziskie.

"The lesson learned here is when developing an app or an optimized mobile site for customer care initiatives, be sure to make the goal to save your customer time," Ziskie suggested. "If you can achieve this task, then you will provide a better customer experience and increase overall customer loyalty."

When developing a mobilized application for smartphone users, companies should plan for what they want their customers to experience from the beginning to the end of the process. According to the writer, this may even include support for helping people solve issues themselves, rather than direct communication with particular services.

Consumers want choices when communicating via contact center

A recent survey of approximately 2,000 customers by a data analytics firm found that 86 percent of participants use at least six different platforms when contacting a company. The internet remained the most popular channel, but social networking and mobile applications are also becoming staples, with more than 40 percent of participants increasing their use of these technologies.

The survey also found that 34 percent of respondents contact businesses through text messages and more than 50 percent are doing so via smartphone apps.

Companies that do not support all of these technologies may be overwhelmed by this development, but there may be a solution, according to the firm's chief marketing officer Benny Einhorn.

"To maximize the value of these interactions, organizations need to own the decisive moment by shaping the interaction as it happens," Einhorn explained. "Service organizations that can impact that moment consistently across countless interactions and continuously throughout the lifetime of customer relationships will not only survive the rising tide of customer interactions - they’ll thrive."